Report finds prison unit exacerbates mental illness

A confidential report to the State Government, obtained by 730 Victoria, has found the state's so-called supermax prisons exacerbate mental illness.

The report, by Professor James Ogloff, says the Charlotte Unit of Port Phillip Prison, where up to six young people have been held in solitary confinement, is the worst of all Victoria's maximum security units.

A 16-year-old Aboriginal boy who was in the child protection system, was kept in the unit for months at a time.

They spend at least 22 hours locked in a cell. They are handcuffed in an exercise yard for the other two hours.

Legal groups and the Australian Human Rights Commission have called for an inquiry into why they are being kept there in contravention of the Human Rights Charter and international obligations.

The secret report singled out the Charlotte Unit for special mention.

It says prisoners held in supermax units can have few normal interpersonal interactions or conversations raising concerns about the impact of this type of imprisonment on mental health.

"Overall there seemed to be an acknowledgement that prisoners needed physical and intellectual stimulation," the report said.

"Charlotte Unit staff members were a notable exception to this."

The report criticised the record keeping at the unit regarding mental illness.

"Information was sometimes limited and potentially misleading," the report said.

The unit did not have many facilities when compared to other similar prisons.

"Charlotte had no exercise equipment. Its exercise yards were sometimes unusable," the report said.

"Access to books was limited. Only guards could choose a radio station. CD players and other entertainment were banned."

Paralegal Charandev Singh has been visiting prisons for 15 years.

"Charlotte is one of the most punitive austere and psychologically assaultive parts of the prison system in Victoria," he said.

"We started tracking, trying to break through all the walls of secrecy and start advocating for those young people and it's been incredibly difficult."

Three of the remaining young people in the unit have been moved out this week but no-one knows why because so far Corrections Victoria has refused to comment.

You have no doubt been hearing a lot about the Paris Agreement and know that it pertains to climate change, but are too embarrassed at this stage to ask for an overall explanation of what it's all about.